30 OUR HOBBY. 



fire the centre of thy world of comfort at home, the summer's 

 sun the centre of thy world of amusement without. The world 

 proper, the social, stirring, busy world, having, we suspect, long 

 ago laid thee on its shelf, a sort of cabinet antique thyself, 

 thy cabinet pursuit is all in character I" Well ! be it so, good 

 reader, and whether, as to our person, right or wrong, we 

 thank thee for having thyself hit upon yet another and a 

 crowning commendation of our hobby, and one, moreover, 

 which will shew further the fitness of the figure by which we 

 represent it. Of the May Fly more in due season, but what 

 common observer, what common fisher knows not that the 

 early morning and the sunset eve are the times it always chooses 

 for its sportive exercise. In like manner, the pursuit of 

 Entomology, in common more or less with all those directed 

 towards natural objects, is one suited especially to the morning 

 and evening of life, least of all perhaps to its active hey-day. 

 Somebody has said, we believe, justly, that "as our other 

 loves and likings weaken, our love of nature strengthens." 

 This is a yearning kindly implanted in that nature which 

 we call our own, and well and happy is it when, in lieu of 

 withered pleasures, we have leisure to cultivate within us 

 such good seed of calm and innocent enjoyment, as may 

 serve to adorn our autumns with something of the verdure of 

 a second spring. As we each in our own career are compelled 

 to take the downward road, we shall surely desire, if ever, to 

 exercise our several hobbies to some worthy purpose, but how 



